Post-

Distribution
Monitoring
BANGLADESH
REFUGEE
SITUATION
MARCH 2018
POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Acknowledgements

This Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) was initiated by

UNHCR’s Sub-Office in Cox’s Bazar to monitor its
distribution of Non-Food Items (NFIs) as well as to collect
refugees’ feedback on the items distributed. UNHCR would
like to thank its staff members and a multi-functional team
in the Office for providing their support and guidance to
complete this exercise. UNHCR would like to thank the
refugee families who also participated in the post
distribution monitoring exercise and provided their valuable
feedback.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR, Sub-Office Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

COVER PHOTOGRAPH:
UNHCR distributing 50,000 Water, Sanitation-Hygiene Kits to refugee
families in Kutupalong and Chakmarkul refugee settlements, Cox’s Bazar,
Bangladesh.
UNHCR / R. Arnold

2 UNHCR / March, 2018

 POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Contents

Introduction 4
Background 4
Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) 5
Methodology 5

Findings and comparative analysis 7

Respondents’ profile 7
Key findings 7
Quality of items 7
Sufficiency of items 8
Usefulness of items 8
Quantity of items received versus entitlement 9
Use of items 10
Distribution method 11
Preferred items 12
Recommendation and way forward 12

UNHCR / March, 2018 3

POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Introduction
Background
Since 25 August 2017, massive human rights violations and targeted violence1 in Rakhine State, Myanmar,
forced over 700,000 people (55% of them children) to seek safety in Bangladesh. This has made the
Myanmar situation one of the largest refugee crises in the world.

The Government of Bangladesh immediately opened its borders to provide refuge to the new arrivals from
Myanmar. Over two short months, the refugee population in Cox’s Bazar District, south of the country,
quadrupled. The influx has continued steadily in subsequent months, with people arriving by foot and by boat.

The refugees arrive exhausted and hungry, often after having walked for days. They recount reports of
violence they witnessed or experienced. Many have lost family members in their home villages or on the
way before crossing into Bangladesh and are deeply affected and stressed by what happened to them.

The new arrivals have joined other Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar that fled in earlier waves of
displacement2. They are concentrated in two areas of Cox’s Bazar District (Ukhiya and Teknaf), increasing
demands on services that half a million local community also rely on. Infrastructure, health, water services,
and the environment (especially forest and land resources), are under significant pressure. As a result of the
large number of new arrivals in Bangladesh, current settlements are stretched to provide adequate services
due to limited space.

In September 2017, an average of 16,000 refugees were fleeing into Bangladesh daily, UNHCR urgently airlifted
much needed aid. In less than three months, these airlifts counted for over 7,100 metric tons of emergency life-
saving aid – including blankets, plastic sheets, sleeping mats, family tents, plastic rolls, kitchen sets, jerry cans
and buckets, collectively valued at USD 13.47 million – to assist some 250,000 refugees. More assistance was
transported by sea. UNHCR also boosted its presence in the field from 49 staff before the crisis to over 220
staff now based in Bangladesh. As of the time of this report, UNHCR distributed 79,974 plastic sheets and
buckets, 399,870 blankets and sleeping mats (part of core relief item sets). At the same time, 78,133 families
received shelter kits. With its partners, and in close collaboration with other humanitarian actors, UNHCR
continues to support the response of the Government of Bangladesh by ensuring the pre-positioning of
supplies, and continuing to deliver assistance for new arrivals and vulnerable refugees, particularly for the
monsoon season.

1
See Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Mission report of OHCHR rapid response mission to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, 13-24
September 2017.

2
There have been successive waves of displacement of the Rohingya population from Rakhine State (in western Myanmar) to Bangladesh since the
1990s. The government of Bangladesh estimates that there were some 303,000 ROhingya in Bangladesh before 25 August 2017.

4 UNHCR / March, 2018

 POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM)

Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) is a mechanism to collect and understand refugees’ feedback on the
quality, sufficiency, utilization and effectiveness of the assistance provided to them by UNHCR. PDMs are
widely used by UNHCR and help to evaluate the effectiveness of the assistance provided. PDM is conducted
independently from the distribution exercise itself, but closely following it in time. This PDM was conducted
during March 2018, and surveyed 1,474 households.

Over the past six months, UNHCR and its partner organizations distributed various non-food items to
Rohingya refugees, such as Compressed Rice Husks (CRH)3, Core Relief Items (CRI)4 including essential
household items such as a kitchen set and a solar lamp, mattresses, blankets, and jerry canes, Shelter Kits5,
WASH Hygiene Kits6 and clothing7. Following the onset of the emergency, over 142,000 CRI and Shelter Kits
have been distributed to refugee families by the end of March 2018, reaching an estimated 350,000 new
arrivals.

Methodology

For this PDM exercise, a sample size of 100 households from each camp were randomly selected with 95%
confidence level and 10% margin of error. In order to assure that the minimum target number of respondents
were met for the desired level of precision, a 15% buffer was added bringing the total randomly selected
households to 115 per camp. A total of 1,474 households participated during this survey.

The PDM covered all 14 camps (see map 1) where UNHCR is directly distributing non-food items in
coordination with its partners. Over 70 trained independent enumerators collected the primary data from
randomly-selected households using a standard questionnaire. The data was collected using kobo online
data collection system.

3
Compressed Rice Husks (CRH) contains one bag of 19 kg, irrespective of the family size. However, UNHCR is planning to increase the quantity to two
bags of 19 kg for families with sizes of 7 and above, starting from May 2018. CRH was distributed to 84,148 families from January to March 2018, while
in 2017 CRH was also distributed to 71,400 families in all camps where UNHCR was directly distributing non-food items.
4
Core Relief Items (CRI) - a kit contains sleeping mats (5 pieces); blanket (5 pieces); jerry can (1 piece); solar lamp (1 piece); bucket (1 piece); plastic sheet
(1 piece); kitchen set (1 pack). 47,053 families received CRI during August – December 2017 whereas 32,932 families received CRI during January –
March 2018.
5
Upgraded Shelter Kit (USK) contains rope (2 bundles x 30m); tarpaulin (2 pieces); bamboo – borak (4 pieces); bamboo – mulli (60 pieces); sand
bag (20 bags); tool kit (1 kit / 5 families); wire (wire is part of pre-monsoon kits not included in the USK). 27,709USK were distributed during August to
December 2017 whereas 34,532 USK were distributed during January to March 2018.
6
WASH Hygiene Kit contains nail clipper (1 piece); multi-purpose clothing (6 pieces); reusable menstrual pads (6 packs); plastic soap box; clothes
line with clothespin (6 pieces); bucket with lid (1 piece); torch; safety pins and tooth brush. WASH Hygiene Kit were distributed to 17,750 families from
January to March 2018.
7
Clothing: Except for shawl (2 per family) and sweater, clothing was distributed on ad–hoc occasion based on available stock with no formal standard.
168,485 shawls were distributed to 84,248 families from January to March 2018.

UNHCR / March, 2018 5

POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Map 1: Refugee Camps where PDM was conducted

Raja Palong Raja

Palong
Ghandung Camp 1E

Ghandung
1.3%
1.2%
3.1%
Camp 1W
Kutupalong
1.3% Camp 2W 2.1% RC
1.6%
Camp 3 1.7%
Camp 4 Camp 2E
Camp 4
Extension 2.0%
Palong 1.9%
1.2%
Camp 6 Camp 7
Khali Palong Camp 5
Khali
MYANMAR 5.0%

Camp 8W
Camp 14 Camp 17
Camp 8E
Camp 15

Camp 16 Camp 20 Camp 20 Camp 9

Extension Camp 18 Camp 10

Camp 19
Camp 11

3.9%
MyanmarCamp 12
Camp 13
Chakmarkul

500 m

Jalia
Palong Whykong
Unchiprang
Camp 25

Shamlapur
Camp 24

Nhilla

BANGLADESH 2.0%
2.0%
Baharchhara
Nayapara RC

Camp 26

Nhilla

Camp 27

Teknaf

Teknaf 500 m

INDIA

BANGLADESH

INDIA

Cox’s Bazar
MYANMAR

2 km
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Sources: UNHCR, RRRC and ISCG

6 UNHCR / March, 2018

 POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Findings and comparative analysis

Respondents’ profile

Fifty-one (51) per cent of the respondents were female and 49% were male. The majority, some 87% were in the
age range 18 to 59 years old, 8% of the respondents were over the age of 60, and 5% under the age of 18. Some
77% of the respondents were heads of households.

Key findings

The findings of the PDM suggest that the distribution of humanitarian items is on the right track with 97% of
respondents reporting that they had received at least one type of non-food items (NFIs), such as Compressed
Rice Husks (CRH), Core Relief Items (CRI), Shelter Kits, WASH Hygiene Kits and clothing. In fact, the majority
of those who reported that they did not receive any kind of assistance were from Camp 17 where distribution
had not yet taken place at the time of the survey, due to it being a new area in the western expansion of the
settlement8. The usefulness of the distributed items was considered ‘average; or ‘above average’ by 98% of
respondents9. At the same time, just above half of those who received items said that the quantities were
sufficient to meet their needs, though the monitoring indicated that some households received more than
they were entitled to as compared to the distribution plans.

The majority of refugees interviewed perceived the distribution of assistance in a positive light, though a few
concerns were raised and suggestions made on how to improve the distribution mechanism as well as the
contents of the packages provided.

Some of the findings also suggest that UNHCR needs to refine its questioning to mitigate the potential of
refugees providing “desired responses” and focus more on unmet needs in the questionnaire. This first
PDM also covered a long distribution period during which distribution arrangements improved considerably.
The findings reflect some concerns that were relevant at the time of the initial emergency response in the
beginning of the crisis, as well as findings related to the period after physical structures and mechanisms for
items distribution were improved.

Quality of items
Chart 1: Score on quality of items
Most respondents rated the quality of individual items they
Compressed
received as at least ‘average’ (64%), with an overall score of Rice Husk 4.08

3.79 on a 5-point scale. As seen in chart 2, within the CRI Core Relief 3.92
Items
kit, the kitchen set was the most appreciated item, scoring
4.21 points, closely followed by plastic sheeting at 4.09. Shelter Kit 3.77

Compressed rice husks scored 4.08. While no item was WASH 3.74
ranked below average, the sleeping mat in the CRI kit Hygiene Kit

scored the least points comparatively with only 3.18, which Clothing 3.57

was related to its durability/ score for its bad durability.

8
Camp 17 is in western side of KTP and was only newly plotted in 2018, with gradual On a scale of 1 (very poor), 2 (poor), 3 (average),
relocations taking place to it. 4 (good) to 5 (very good)
9
Scoring system « Not useful at all, Not useful, Average, Useful and Very useful ».

UNHCR / March, 2018 7

POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Chart 2: Score on quality of items

4.21

4.09

4.03

4.02

3.97

3.92

3.88

3.89
3.85

3.79

3.78

3.76

3.84

3.83

3.76

3.75

3.75

3.79
3.74

3.72

3.71

3.67
3.63

3.63
3.44

3.30
3.18

Multipurpose cloths

Plastic Soap Box

Adult Toothbrush
Child Toothbrush
Bamboo (Borak)

Bamboo (Mulli)

with clothespin
Bucket with lid

Menstrual Pads
Plastic Sheet

Sleeping Mat

Rope (60m)

Clothes line

Nail Clipper
Kitchen Set

Solar Lamp

Safety Pins
Sand Bag
Jerry Can

Wire (Kg)

Tarpaulin

Reusable

Sweater
Clothes
Blanket

Tool Kit
Bucket

Shawl
Torch
Core Relief Items Shelter Kit WASH Hygiene Kit Clothing

In terms of the kits received, in terms of the kits received, chart 2 shows that refugees appreciated the
quality of the CRI kit most (3.92), followed by the Shelter kit (3.77). The package least appreciated in terms
of quality was clothing which was given an overall score of 3.57. It is worth mentioning that clothing is not
part of UNHCR’s standard distribution items and is often received as an unsolicited in-kind donation. UNHCR
prefers to address clothing requirements through cash-based interventions (CBI), which at the initial phase
of the response (due to local limitations) was not an option.

Sufficiency of items
Chart 3: Sufficiency of items
Despite receiving sometimes more than what they were
entitled to, almost half of the respondents reported that the 22%
Core Relief 26%
quantities received were insufficient, in particular for Item Clothing
51% 49%
clothing, followed by core relief items (CRIs), shelter kit,
Yes No 22% 10%
hygiene kit, and compressed rice husks (CRH)10. It appears Shelter CRH
Kit
surprising that CRHs did not come out as particularly 20%
Hygiene
insufficient as the allocation only addresses about one Kit

third of the requirements due to limited, seasonal supplies.

It suggests that the shortfall compensated with the collection of firewood and biomass, is not felt so badly.

Usefulness of items Chart 4: Score on usefulness of items

Compressed
Rice Husk 4.38
The majority of respondents rated the items they received
Shelter Kit 4.23
as useful, with an overall score of 4.17 on a 5-point scale.
Of the assistance received, CRH was viewed as the most Core Relief 4.22
Items
useful form of assistance, scoring 4.38 points (chart 4). It
was followed closely by tarpaulin (part of the Shelter kit) WASH 4.09
Hygiene Kit
at 4.36 (chart 5). No item was ranked below average.
Clothing 4.08

On a scale of 1 (very poor), 2 (poor), 3 (average),

4 (good) to 5 (very good)
10
CRH is a seasonal item and local supplies cannot cover demand - only some thirty per cent of the planned needs can be sourced locally. UNHCR and
partners recognize the shortfall. The survey result is surprising for not being higher in terms of respondents identifying insufficiency of CRH. Since the
initial round, UNHCR through partners distributed enhanced shelter kits and is following up on hygiene kits. Meanwhile, any clothing distributed through
partners were (unsolicited) in-kind donations - it is overly challenging to address needs for clothing in a targeted fashion (type, number sizes, etc.).

8 UNHCR / March, 2018

 POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Chart 5: Score on usefulness of items

4.36
4.34

4.34

4.32

4.31
4.26

4.25

4.24

4.22

4.22
4.17

4.16
4.3

4.14

4.13

4.12

4.11

4.11
4.09

4.09

4.07
4.06

4.03

4.01
4.1

4
3.8
Multipurpose cloths
Plastic Soap Box

Adult Toothbrush

Child Toothbrush
Bamboo (Borak)

Clothes line with

Menstrual Pads
Bamboo (Mulli)

Bucket with lid

Plastic Sheet
Sleeping Mat

Rope (60m)

Nail Clipper
Kitchen Set

Solar Lamp

Safety Pins
clothespin
Sand Bag
Jerry Can

Reusable
Wire (Kg)
Tarpaulin

Sweater
Clothes
Blanket

Tool Kit
Bucket

Shawl
Torch
Core Relief Items Shelter Kit WASH Hygiene Kit Clothing

Quantity of items received versus entitlement

The survey’s findings show that in most instances the majority of respondents received at least their
entitlement or more items, with some items like clotheslines and other items included in the WASH Hygiene
kit reported as over distributed. Of the 27 individual items distributed, there were 12 items reported as
under- distributed, in particular rope, which is distributed as part of the Shelter kit, with 90% respondents
saying they received less than
what they were entitled to. Chart 6: Quantity of items received Versus distributed
Based on observations of the CRH Core Relief Items Shelter Kit WASH Hygiene Kit Clothing

UNHCR Shelter Unit in Cox’s Received

more than 79%
Bazar, it is known that some entitled
63% 59%
beneficiaries were using their kits 47% 44% 45%

differently from the advised 23%

18% 16% 19%
10% 10% 13% 10%
method and might have been 10% 7%
2% 5% 8% 2% 1%
7% 6% 3%

1%
under the impression that the 1%
11% 8%
16% 17%
24% 27% 26%
quantity received was not the full Received
less than
34%
40%
entitled 53%
entitlement. Efforts were made to
Clothes line with clothespin

Reusable Menstrual Pads

address these concerns by 90%

explaining the intended use of

Multipurpose cloths

Plastic Soap Box

Adult Toothbrush
Child Toothbrush
Bamboo (Borak)
Bamboo (Mulli)

Bucket with lid

rope, but also by providing more

Plastic Sheet

Sleeping Mat

Rope (60m)

Nail Clipper
Kitchen Set
Solar Lamp

Safety Pins
Sand Bag
Jerry Can

Wire (Kg)
Tarpaulin

Sweater

when needed. The only item

Clothes
Blanket

Tool Kit
Bucket

Shawl
Torch

reported as distributed according

to right quantity was solar lamps,
with all respondents saying they received exactly what they were entitled to. This analysis could not be
applied to the distribution of used clothes since there is no standard entitlement package.

UNHCR / March, 2018 9

POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Use of items

More than 99% of the respondents reported that either they used the items they received or kept them for
future use. All respondents reported that they used the compressed rice husks. Very few respondents (0.1%
to 0.2%) reported that they sold the items they received, or that items were stolen. A small number of
respondents reported using items to provide gifts and/or exchanged items. Out of the items received by the
respondents, 0.8% indicated they sold kitchen sets, followed by toothbrushes (0.6%), sleeping mats and
torches (0.5%), and plastic sheeting and sandbags (0.4%). It is important to note that those reporting items
stolen were higher than reports of selling. It is worth noting also that the low report of sales of humanitarian
relief items from respondents does not match observations in the open market where some core relief items
are visibly on sale from all humanitarian agencies. It is recommended that further enquiry is conducted on
this matter to clarify whether destitute households started to sell additional items they received since the
survey was undertaken, or whether respondents catered to what they thought were desired responses for
the survey. Below table summarizes the actual use reported by the respondents.

Table 1: % of respondents reporting actual use of items received11

Used and
Non-Food Item Type Used Stored Sold Gifted Stolen
Stored
Compressed Rice Husk
100% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
(CRH)

Core Relief Items (CRI) 92% 2.3% 4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.4%

Shelter Kit 93% 3.9% 3% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0%

WASH Hygiene Kit 93% 3% 4% 0.2% 0.0% 0.5%

Clothing 85% 8% 6% 0.1% 0.3% 0.0%

Though very few respondents reported the case of selling items, their reason for selling items is primarily
related to buying (fresh) food (37%), catering for different household expenses (29%), medical expenses (21%),
and other requirements. The top three items which fetched the highest price on the market were the kitchen
sets (BDT 686, about USD 9), solar lamps (BDT 550, USD 7), and tarpaulins (BDT 400, USD 5) all of which are
below their actual cost. The least popular items were toothbrushes which sold for BDT 10-15, and sandbags
(BDT 5). Three of the families that reported exchanging items did so for other household items, while two
other families exchanged for food and fuel. This indicates not so much of an oversupply but highlights the
desperate need of people to have cash for items or services not covered by in-kind distributions, and can
indicate additional needs not covered within current service provision. UNHCR would like to scale up cash-
based interventions (CBI) for the most destitute in the settlements and host communities.

11
Due to the multiple selection nature of some of the questions, the total percentage could go above 100%.

10 UNHCR / March, 2018

 POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Distribution method

In general, the majority of respondents gave ‘above average’ for the organization of the distribution, with an
overall score of 3.8 on a 5-point scale12. Among the complaints made by respondents about distribution was
the lack of special arrangements for individuals with medical conditions who had to queue along with others.
Through the work of UNHCR and Protection partners this concern is being addressed, and special
arrangements were already put in place to facilitate the delivery of assistance to all persons with special
needs. Another complaint included verbal bullying and pushing among refugees as they waited in line.
Respondents complained of long waiting times (an average of 1 hour 48 minutes reported) according to
feedback collected for this survey. Averaging the waiting times however is a challenge as the initial distributions
earlier in the response took place under very difficult circumstances, and the situation has improved
considerably over time.

A small but important proportion of refugees surveyed, 1% of respondents, stated that they had to pay or ask
someone as a favour to be put on the distribution list. The amount paid to be on the distribution list ranged from
BDT 71 to 116 (USD 0.83 to USD 1.40). When Chart 7: % of respondents who paid to be included on
responding, 75% of this group reported making distribution list

payments to ‘majhis’ who are refugees that were Mahji 75%

designated by local authorities to assist with
4%
humanitarian relief efforts. UNHCR does not utilise 1%
99% Yes
majhis to support its relief work. UNHCR works Other 3%
No
directly with partners such as the Bangladesh Red
1%
Crescent Society (BDRCS), which organizes
appointments for distributions directly with the Don’t want
to answer 17%
refugee community. The result of the survey
confirms UNHCR’s ongoing concerns about the
need for more elaborated community governance structures at camp level that are representative of refugees’
choice and reflect the age, gender and diversity composition of the refugee population, while underscoring
the need to establish safeguards to stop misconduct by individuals entrusted to serve the community.

Meanwhile, 25% of respondents reported payments related to the collection and transport of the assistance
from distribution points to their homes. The main Chart 8: % of respondents who paid to transport
reasons cited were: the distance (72%); followed items to/from distribution point
by the weight (15%). Other reasons cited included
specific needs such as being a single-parent (4%) Distance 72%

or having mobility issues (5%) and being unable to Too

heavy 15%
leave children alone, or having mobility issues and
75% 25%
being unable to manage the camp terrain (4%). SHH* 4%
No Yes
Only 38% of the respondents reported that they
Mobility
received information about the distribution issues 5%

beforehand. This suggests that more effort is

Other 4%
needed to ensure that information about
entitlements is made available before distributions.
12
(very bad), 2 (bad), 3 (Average), 4 (good) to 5 (very good)
* Single-parent headed household

UNHCR / March, 2018 11

POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

Twenty-six (26) per cent of the respondents reported that they faced problems during or after the distribution.
Most problems occurring during distribution were related to the long waiting time, harassment, and lack of
fast-tracking procedures for individuals with special Chart 9: Problems during and after distribution
needs. Most issues occurring after distribution were
related to the distance from the distribution centre to 8%
Other
the shelter, or the weight of the kit distributed. Half the
9%
complaints were addressed to a UN staff member, and Information
33% to NGO staff as shown in chart 9. Only 9% of the Point
complaints were registered at information points 33%
NGO staff
(however, it is worth nothing that only a few existed in 74% 26%
No Yes
the early months of the emergency). In response to
these issues, information desks are now a standard 50%
feature of distributions. UN Staff

More generally, UNHCR is following up with its staff

and partners to ensure absolute clarity on rights, entitlements, and strengthening awareness among refugees
on expected distribution standards.

Preferred Items

Among the distributed items, the majority of the Chart 10: Preferred type of assistance
respondents selected Core Relief Items (kitchen set,
jerry can) and Shelter kits (bamboo poles, tarpaulin)
Cash + NFI 39%
as their ‘highly preferred’ items.

NFI 29%
Most of the families (39%) stated that regardless of
the type of assistance, they would prefer to receive a
Cash 28%
combination of in-kind and in-cash assistance. 29%
of the respondents stated that they would prefer to
Other 4%
receive all assistance as in-kind, suggesting that the
confidence in local markets is still limited. A similar
percentage 28% said that they would prefer cash
assistance. UNHCR is working on scaling up its cash-
based interventions (CBI).

Recommendation and way forward

Overall findings indicate that the quality, quantity, usefulness and actual use of items received is very good.
However, there were a number of issues reported which need further attention and action from both UNHCR,
partners and by refugees themselves. Though UNHCR has already taken action on some, the following are
key issues that will be given attention as a result of this PDM exercise:

■■ Information regarding the entitlements of refugees for in-kind items will be communicated well in
advance, including explaining the intended use of the items provided.

12 UNHCR / March, 2018

 POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING - MARCH - 2018

■■ The organization of the distribution, although reported as above average, needs further improvement.
Some improvements were made already, including the installation of information desks, as well as better
catering for the needs of elderly persons and women and more generally persons with special needs.
Efforts were made to improve waiting times (e.g. through tokens provided for certain days and times).
UNHCR is exploring the issue of support for transporting items in-camp (possibly through cash-for-work).
Guidelines on portering have been developed by the UNHCR-led Protection Working Group in Cox’s
Bazar.

■■ In view of the fact that 1% of the respondents reported making payments to receive assistance, UNHCR
is placing top priority on working with partners, local authorities and the refugee community to ensure
that refugees understand that they should be able to freely access assistance without payments. This
renewed effort to raise awareness on this issue includes more information and awareness campaigns
for refugees, and enforcing a Code of Conduct with partners, as well as engaging the support of Camp
in Charges (CiCs) and ‘majhi’ (appointed refugee representatives). However, this PDM report covers the
period of six months during which not only distribution mechanics improved but also the understanding
of how distribution lists are produced as well as the fact that assistance is free. UNHCR bases its
distribution lists on the RRRC-UNHCR family counting data aligned with registration undertaken by the
Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) available since November 2017 while other agencies rely on lists
compiled by ‘majhis’. Therefore, it might be conceivable that these payments reported by 1% of the
respondents are a problem of the past, pre-dating the availability of better data on the refugee population.
Information desks are now also available at every distribution and are intended to record problems for
appropriate follow-up and the resolution of cases identified that need support. More fundamentally,
UNHCR is engaged with the authorities and other partners in a discussion on the need for a transparent
and accountable community governance structure.

■■ Though very few households reported selling items at the time of the PDM survey, UNHCR will revise its
approach in subsequent surveys to lessen the potential for “desired answers” being given. A closer
examination of items being sold on the market will also be undertaken, with a view to supplementing the
analysis of responses given in future PDM surveys.

UNHCR / March, 2018 13

Post-
Distribution
Monitoring
BANGLADESH REFUGEE EMERGENCY
MARCH 2018

THANK YOU

UNHCR’s humanitarian response in Bangladesh is made possible with the generous

support of major donors who have contributed unrestricted funding to UNHCR’s global
operations, and thanks to donors who have generously contributed directly to UNHCR
Bangladesh operations.

UNHCR would like to acknowledge support received in 2017 and 2018 from the people and
governments of:
Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, the European Union, France, Germany,
Iceland, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Arab
Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

UNHCR is grateful for the additional support received from many individuals, foundations, and
companies worldwide, including IKEA Foundation, Kuwait Finance House, Latter-Day Saints
Charities, OPEC Fund for International Development, Prosolidar Foundation, Qatar Charity,
RAF, Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation, The Big Heart Foundation, and UPS Corporate.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR, Sub-Office Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh